Fort Smith, Arkansas – Duane (DAK) Kees, United States
Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas; L. Diane Upchurch, Special Agent
in Charge of the FBI; and David Etheredge, Prosecuting Attorney for the
Fourteenth Judicial District Drug Task Force announced that on February 27,
2018 and March 1, 2018, ten individuals were sentenced by the United States
District Court for their roles in a methamphetamine trafficking ring which
operated in Boone, Baxter, Searcy,
Newton, Carroll, and Washington Counties in Arkansas. The Honorable Chief Judge
P.K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearings in the United States
District Court in Fort Smith.
According to court records, on July 26, 2017, a federal
grand jury returned a twenty (20) count Indictment against ten (10) individuals
in the Harrison, Arkansas and Central Arkansas areas for activities in a
large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy.
This drug trafficking ring was responsible for the distribution of
multiple kilograms of methamphetamine dating back as far as early 2016. Arrests
of the individuals sentenced on February 27, 2018 and March 1, 2018 were
conducted in a multi-agency operation in Harrison on August 17, 2017.
Defendants in this conspiracy received the following
sentences:
Ricky Dwayne Moles, age 57, of Harrison, Arkansas was
sentenced February 27, 2018 to 70 months in federal prison followed by three
years of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute
Methamphetamine. Moles was indicted in
the Western District of Arkansas in July 2017 and plead guilty in October
2017.
Vance Lynn Parnin, Jr., age 49, of Berryville, Arkansas was
sentenced February 27, 2018 to 78 months in federal prison followed by three
years of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute
Methamphetamine. Parnin was indicted in
the Western District of Arkansas in July 2017 and plead guilty in October 2017.
Eric Lynn Friend, age 40, of Harrison, Arkansas was
sentenced February 27, 2018 to 70 months in federal prison followed by three
years of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute
Methamphetamine. Friend was indicted in
the Western District of Arkansas in July 2017 and plead guilty in October 2017.
Ricky William Akins a/k/a “Big Rick”, age 60, of Lead Hill,
Arkansas was sentenced February 27, 2018 to 37 months in federal prison
followed by three years of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to
Distribute Methamphetamine. Akins was
indicted in the Western District of Arkansas in July 2017 and plead guilty in
October 2017.
Brittnee Nicole Perkins, age 27, of Harrison, Arkansas was
sentenced February 27, 2018 to 46 months in federal prison followed by three
years of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute
Methamphetamine. Perkins was indicted in
the Western District of Arkansas in July 2017 and plead guilty in October 2017.
Julia Nicole Holley, age 32, of Little Rock, Arkansas was
sentenced March 1, 2018 to 18 months in federal prison followed by three years
of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute
Methamphetamine. Holley was indicted in
the Western District of Arkansas in July 2017 and plead guilty in October 2017.
Amy Leann Friend-Hagler, age 37, of Greenbrier, Arkansas was
sentenced March 1, 2018 to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay
a $5,000.00 fine on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. Friend-Hagler was indicted in the Western
District of Arkansas in July 2017 and plead guilty in October 2017.
Bobby Gene Ellis, Jr., age 44, of Harrison, Arkansas was
sentenced March 1, 2018 to 70 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of
Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.
Ellis was indicted in the Western District of Arkansas in July 2017 and
plead guilty in October 2017.
Melissa Haley Childs, age 31, of Harrison, Arkansas was
sentenced March 1, 2018 to 40 months in federal prison followed by three years
of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute
Methamphetamine. Childs was indicted in
the Western District of Arkansas in July 2017 and plead guilty in October 2017.
A tenth co-defendant on the same Indictment, Corky Ray
Anglin, entered a plea of guilty to one (1) count of distribution of a mixture
or substance containing methamphetamine on December 14, 2017 and is scheduled
for sentencing on April 19, 2018.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the 14th Judicial Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement
Administration, the Arkansas State Police, the Boone County Sheriff, the Newton
County Sheriff, the Searcy County Sheriff, the Baxter County Sheriff, the
Harrison Police Department, and the Arkansas National Guard Counter Drug.
Assistant United States Attorney Brandon Carter is prosecuting the case for the
Western District of Arkansas.
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